Warren Gatland will stick with four back row players who shone during this year's Grand Slam when he names his final World Cup squad - and take the rest of the summer to decide whether Taulupe Faletau should be on the plane to Japan.
WalesOnline has learned that the outgoing Kiwi boss has decided to take five loose forwards in a party of 31 and will stick by Justin Tipuric, Ross Moriarty, Josh Navidi and Aaron Wainwright, all of whom were to the fore through the Six Nations triumph and Wales' 14-match unbeaten run up to and during it.
Realistically that leaves Lions No.8 Faletau, Aaron Shingler and Ellis Jenkins, who Gatland rates very highly but who sustained a serious knee injury last autumn, vying for the remaining berth. It's understood Thomas Young and James Davies are, as things stand, well down the pecking order.
Logic decrees Gatland will plump for Faletau, who has been a high quality stalwart of his reign but who has endured a torrid time with injuries in recent seasons.
But the former Dragons man, like Shingler and Jenkins, has been sidelined long-term and needs to prove he is ready to resume international rugby at the levels he attained previously.
Seventeen-times capped blindside flanker and lineout ace Shingler missed the whole of last season recovering from knee surgery, but the 31-year-old was named in Wales’ extended World Cup training squad.
Flanker Jenkins, who was joint captain of Wales with lock Cory Hill during last year’s summer Test with South Africa in Washington and the tour of Argentina which followed, had a knee reconstruction after being stretchered off late-on following a stand-out display in the win over the Springboks in Cardiff during the final match of the 2018 November series.
The 11-times capped breakdown expert wasn’t in the training squad, but it was stressed he could be added to it if he is declared fit.
Faletau would have been a certainty for the World Cup after being Lions No.8 during a gripping drawn Test series with New Zealand in 2017.
He had been Mr Consistency for Wales in his 72 outings after making his debut eight years ago against the Barbarians.
But knee and arm injuries have resulted in him only turning out six times for Wales in the last two years and he didn’t feature at all last season.
And the 28-year-old made just five appearances for Bath during the 2018-19 campaign, his last coming on January 12 against Wasps in the Champions Cup.
He made 11 the previous season and has just 32 to his name during three years with the West Country club since joining it from the Dragons.
Faletau fractured his right forearm playing against Exeter Chiefs last October. He then suffered another hairline fracture around a screw, which had been used to attach a metal plate to the bone, while making his comeback, at home to Wasps.
He had another operation after seeing the surgeon who dealt with England No.8 Billy Vunipola – the pair are life-long pals after growing up together in the Pontypool area – in an effort to cure the problem.
“I’ve spoken to Billy and I went to see the same guy. Hopefully this time it will do the job. It seems to be right with him (Vunipola), so hopefully I’m the same,” said Faletau.
“There is a lot of hard work to be done when the arm is right. I want to be at the World Cup 100 per cent. If it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen.
“Hopefully I can get through the contact in training and maybe play a game but if not, I will give my arm more time to heal and be solid for the next time I do run out.”
Wales enter the World Cup as one of the favourites after completing the clean sweep in the Six Nations and Faletau knows the challenge ahead of him in proving he’s worth a place.
“It’s a pretty strong squad at the moment and fair play to the coaches for building up the strength in depth because it hasn’t always been there,” he said.
“They have done a heck of a job in creating that over the last couple of years. It’s unbelievable the amount of back rowers who have come out of that place at times.”
Gatland is mulling over a squad split of 18 forwards and 13 backs for the World Cup.
He is spoilt for choice with an abundance of riches to choose from after building significant depth with some seriously good players likely to miss out because of the squad limit of 31 imposed by tournament organisers.
